Beauty and the Beach (11 page)

“Oh, good, you’re home,” said Mrs. Gilroy.

“Yes.”

“Actually, I already knew that.” She grinned sheepishly. “I saw the two of you bringing in groceries. I wanted to introduce you to my niece on my husband’s side.” She gestured to the tall brunette beside her. The girl was drop-dead gorgeous, glossy, and fit. As a former beauty queen, Isabelle felt frumpy in comparison.

“Isabelle, this is Caitlyn Gilroy.” Mrs. Gilroy wrinkled her nose. “Naturally she returned to her maiden name after the divorce. And Caitlyn, this is Isabelle…I’m sorry, dear, I don’t remember your last name.”

“Kenna. Isabelle Kenna.” She held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Caitlyn.”

Caitlyn’s cool, well-manicured hand slid into Isabelle’s and shook once before dropping limply. “And you, as well. My aunt tells me you’ve just moved in recently?”

“I did.”

“Welcome to the neighborhood.” Caitlyn’s smile flashed perfect and white, completing the poised and polished package. But the tone of voice was icy cold. Was it her imagination, or was the welcome to the neighborhood comment meant to put her in her place? That of interloper. When she’d been in the beauty pageant years before, she’d run into a lot of perfect faces and had learned to guard her back, so it was possible she was just imagining the slight, based on past experience.

“Thank you.” Common courtesy and Mrs. Gilroy’s raised eyebrows demanded she invite the ladies inside, but it wasn’t her house and she knew Adam wouldn’t thank her. He’d particularly named these two as the people he hoped Isabelle’s presence would dissuade. So she opted for rudeness and continued to block the door.

Mrs. Gilroy looked into Adam’s home. “So…will you be here long?”

That was exactly none of their business. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if you and Adam are a couple, or what exactly?”

Isabelle raised a brow, no longer concerned about her own rudeness. “For the foreseeable future.”

“Oh,” said Mrs. Gilroy. “I never did find out how the two of you met?”

“I’m a nurse at the hospital he frequents.”

Mrs. Gilroy tsked. “It’s such a shame the way his face was ruined.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, well, the scars,” Mrs Gilroy waved a hand in front of her own face. “You know.”

Caitlyn smiled at her aunt. “I don’t mind the scars.”

Mrs. Gilroy beamed. “You wouldn’t, would you? You’re such a kindhearted girl. What about you, Isabelle? Do you mind?”

“I’m much more concerned about the pain his knee gives him than any superficial scars on his face.”

Caitlyn’s eyes narrowed. “Very commendable. Do you meet a lot of men at the hospital?”

“Every day.”

Caitlyn laughed. “Maybe I should have been a nurse! I understand a lot of men fall under the spell of their nurses. It’s called the Nightingale Syndrome, isn’t it?”

Isabelle would like to give her the benefit of the doubt, but that felt like a definite stab. “It’s not too late. You’re still fairly young. It only takes about four years of hard work and then you, too, can meet all the men you like.”

Caitlyn’s lips narrowed to match her eyes. “I also heard it’s short-lived. Relationships developed under adverse conditions never really last.”

A definite stab. “Really?”

“Don’t nurses have a high rate of divorce?”

“You’re thinking doctors.”

Mrs. Gilroy glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Yes, well, I’m not sure if you know it or not, but my niece used to date Adam.”

Isabelle looked at Caitlyn. “Really? What happened?”

Mrs. Gilroy smiled at her niece. “Unfortunately, she had to go home to deal with matters there. But she’s back now and, of course, she was very surprised to find you living here.”

“Very surprised,” said Caitlyn.

This was getting bizarre. Isabelle surveyed the two of them, not sure what to say. It sounded as if Caitlyn was declaring her desire to get Adam back, and Isabelle’s protective instincts rose. With these pushy women living next door, no wonder Adam jumped at the chance to use Isabelle as a shield. She decided she’d had enough. “Adam’s probably waiting for me and, since we’re wildly in love and all, I’d better get going. Thanks for stopping by.”

“Oh, wait,” said Mrs. Gilroy. “I completely forgot to tell you why we came over. I was hoping to borrow a cup of sugar.”

“Oh?” Isabelle stalled. “What are you making?”

“A cake to celebrate Caitlyn’s visit for the summer.”

The whole summer? Isabelle couldn’t think of a graceful way to turn the ladies down, but no way was she letting them inside. “Sorry, we’re out.” She could feel her face burn and cursed her light skin.

“Out of sugar?”

“Yes. Same as you. I have to watch my figure if I want to keep Adam under my spell. If I have any sugar in the house I make buttered cinnamon-sugar toast. So I had to throw it all out and buy capers instead.”

“Capers?”

“Yes, but I only have the one jar, so…” Feeling like a fool, she lifted a shoulder.

The two ladies stared at her. Wide-eyed, Isabelle stared back.

“Er…yes…” Mrs. Gilroy raised her brows at her niece.

“Again, thanks for stopping by.” This time Isabelle didn’t give them the chance to protest, but simply shut and locked the door. Sugar, indeed. She walked toward the kitchen only to see Adam hiding behind the wall.

She quickly scanned back through the conversation, thought about being embarrassed, but changed her mind. It wasn’t her fault his neighbors were piranhas.

“We’re wildly in love and I’m under your spell?”

She grinned at him. “Only so long as I keep sugar out of the house, you coward.”

He laughed. “There’s a difference between self-preservation and cowardice.”

“Says you.”

Adam's eyes were gleaming. “Still, I’m flattered that you’re so wildly in love with me.”

“I…I…didn’t mean it,” she stammered. “They just made me feel….”

“Protective?” He stalked toward her.

She grabbed a towel and started wiping at the countertop, moving away from him. “Maybe a little.”

“That's why I'm flattered. You're very protective of others, aren't you? Your father, your sister. Now me. I find I like being included in your inner circle. I like it a lot.”

She finally held her ground, placed a hand on her hip, and lifted her chin. “Well, you are under my spell and all so…” She shrugged.

He stopped in front of her, his gaze dropping to her mouth.

She took a breath.

He did, too, then shut his eyes briefly, swung away, and opened a cupboard. “Be that as it may, it’s time for your first cooking lesson.” He pulled out a glass jar. “What do you think? Something with capers?”

She was still smiling when they got to work.

~~~

An hour later, Adam served dinner on china plates and Isabelle carried them outside to the patio where she set them on the decorated table. She stood back and studied the white tablecloth and the place settings complete with wine glasses, silverware, and professionally folded red napkins. The latter was thanks to a stint at a restaurant in San Diego while Isabelle attended college. A vase with the rose Adam bought earlier served as the centerpiece.

Perfect.

Adam followed a moment later with the fresh-squeezed pitcher of several kinds of fruit juice, mixed with a packet of flavoring, a recipe he claimed to have copied off the food network. She shook her head. The man was a walking contradiction. Jeweler, amateur chef, Marine. He set the pitcher down and stood back.

“Pretty, right?” she asked.

His mouth curved. “It looks great. Let’s eat.”

After they’d settled, Adam watched her take the first bite. “Good?”

She nodded. “It’s delicious. Halibut?”

“With lemon, butter, capers, and dill sauce. The noodles are fettuccine, but you could use any kind you like.”

She took another bite. “It’s really good. These green things are the capers?”

“Yes.”

“They look like peas, but they sort of taste like green olives.”

“They’re actually edible flower buds, but they’re pickled, so that’s what you’re tasting. If you don’t like the flavor, just pick them off.”

“I do like it. I like the whole dish. Of course, it’s not quite as good as say, hot dogs and tater tots, but it’s still good.”

He laughed. “So you’re a girl of simple tastes?”

“Pretty much,” she gestured with her fork toward the food. “But I’m willing to be corrupted.”

He winked at her. “That works out well for me. So, I was wondering if I could get your phone number?”

Isabelle couldn’t help it, she laughed.

His brow rose. “That’s funny?”

“I’m living in your house, eating your food, being your fake girlfriend, and you don’t have my phone number?”

“I will if you give it to me.”

She smiled. “What makes you think I won't give you a fake number?”

“I'll give you mine if you'll give me yours.”

“Is it just me, or does that sound naughty?”

“It’s just you. Anyway, you might need to contact me and you’ll need my number.”

“I could always get it off your file at the hospital.”

“Izzy. The number. Now.”

She laughed, then gave him her number.

He entered it into his phone and then glanced up, his eyes narrowing. He held up his phone, thumb hovering over a button. “I’m calling this so I can make sure it’s not a Chinese take-out place or something. So, if you want to change the number, now’s the time.”

She arched a brow, but didn’t comment.

He hit dial and a moment later they could both hear ringing through the kitchen window.

“Coincidence?” she asked.

“I don’t believe in coincidence, so now you have my number. I give it to very few people, so protect it with your life.”

“If you don’t help with dishes, I’ll give it to Mrs. Gilroy and her niece.”

He laughed. “It’s to be blackmail, is it? Fine, I’ll do the dishes with you. But after, we’re still going to the beach, right?”

“I’m looking forward to it.” They ate in silence for a moment, and Isabelle enjoyed the warm breeze, the fresh smell coming off the ocean, and the way he looked at her. She finally couldn’t stand the building tension. “Does your family live around here?”

He shrugged. “My brother is in Los Angeles wheeling and dealing, but I hardly ever see him. Mom, Dad, Grandma, and my sister are all back East.”

“Are you a close family?’

“I’d say so. Close enough that they never mind their own business.”

She laughed. “Do you like making jewelry?”

“I love it.”

“When did you start?”

“In junior high.”

“Really? With your friend’s father?”

“With him, but they also had classes for junior high and high school students at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. I had my Master Jeweler certification by the time I graduated from high school.”

She just stared at him for a long moment. “You’re lucky you knew what you wanted to do from such a young age. How did you come to open the store in Laguna Beach? It’s a long way from where you started.”

He shrugged. “After I left active duty, I was selling jewelry through Beckman’s on commission, finishing up my MBA, and research to find a good place to open a store. This was a good area, so I opened this place and it sort of took off.”

“So you’re what? Fifty years old?”

His mouth dropped. “I look fifty?”

She laughed at his stunned expression. “No, you look like you’re twenty-eight. But your looks are obviously deceptive. Let me see if I have this right. You certified as a Master Jeweler at a very young age, got your Bachelor's degree in business, went into the military for four years, retired, got your MBA, then started up a business that did so well you opened two more stores. Did I miss anything?”

“Only the fact that I’m thirty-one,” he said darkly.

She laughed again. “How do you keep up with the demand? Do you make every piece of jewelry?”

“No. That’s not possible. I design every piece, make the molds, then hire the work out to other artisans. I also do exclusive pieces that sell very well. The Starfire is one of those,” he said matter-of-factly.

Her gaze dropped and she managed not to flinch. Not sure what to say, she remained silent.

“So, tell me about your career. Why nursing?”

She shrugged. “I won the local beauty pageant about six years ago, spent a year representing the city, then, when I lost my bid for Miss California, I took the one-year scholarship and went off to the University of San Diego.” Using her fork, she pushed at the noodles on her plate. “The pageant and the schooling sort of opened up the world for me. I was just taking generals and having fun with all my newfound girlfriends when the school had a career drive. Nursing appealed to me, so I checked it out and it was a good fit.”